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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29214534">In Another Life</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/flipflop_diva/pseuds/flipflop_diva'>flipflop_diva</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Book 5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, F/F, Time Travel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 06:47:06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,484</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29214534</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/flipflop_diva/pseuds/flipflop_diva</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>During the battle at the Department of Mysteries, Hermione touches something in the Time Room she shouldn't have and gets a glimpse at the life she may someday have.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hermione Granger/Pansy Parkinson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>83</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Past Imperfect Future Unknown 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>In Another Life</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/vendettadays/gifts">vendettadays</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It happened so fast. One minute they were running and fighting for their lives — the Death Eaters had tracked them to the room with the bell jar, were closing in on them. Harry had grabbed her arm, pulled her into an office off to the side, but the Death Eaters had followed. She had used <i>silencio</i> on one, but he had struck back, sending a wordless spell her way. It had seared as it hit her. She’d looked down and saw what looked like purple flame, and then she felt herself fall, her hand brushing over something as she crumpled, the world around her disappearing and everything going dark — and the next minute she was opening her eyes to a completely different world.</p>
<p>She was lying in a bed she didn’t recognize in a bedroom she also didn’t recognize. The sun was pouring in through huge glass windows off to her left side. The sheets and comforter she was under were bright white, and everything in the room was white too — the dresser, the curtains, the carpet.</p>
<p>She stared around her. What looked like her wand was on the table beside the bed, along with a pair of glasses she didn’t recognize and a mug with a cartoon cat on it. She sat up, staring around at her, and then she looked down at her hands and almost shrieked.</p>
<p>They were her hands, but they looked … older somehow. More aged. Her nails were filed and painted in a light pink. She caught a glimpse of something in the mirror over the dresser that was to her right and almost shrieked again.</p>
<p>She pushed the covers aside and made to get up but stopped immediately. She was naked. Completely naked. She stared down at herself, at this body that looked like hers but wasn’t. It was curvier than she was, the muscles in her legs firmer. And the hair between her legs looked like it had been neatly trimmed.</p>
<p>She hurried to the mirror, staring at herself in the mirror. Just like with the rest of her body, it was her face in the mirror, but it wasn’t. She looked older — at least by ten years. She could see the tiny lines of age starting to appear, and all traces of childhood were gone. Her hair was no longer bushy, but long and straight and a lighter brown that it was now.</p>
<p>She stared at herself trying to understand. Was she dreaming? Was she hallucinating? They had been at the Ministry, in the time room that was made of time …</p>
<p>
  <i>Made of time.</i>
</p>
<p>She gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. She closed her eyes, though back, remembered her hand brushing over something. Had that something sent her traveling through time? Had it sent her forward in time?</p>
<p>She spun around to look at the room again and that’s when she realized: She wasn’t alone. There was a door off the bedroom that was closed, but she could hear the sound of water running. She glanced back over at the bed and realized the pillows that were on the opposite of where she had awoken showed the creases of a head, and the sheets were wrinkled and pushed back.</p>
<p>Oh, Merlin, she was here with someone.</p>
<p>A girlfriend, probably, but what if she came out and saw her? She needed to get back to her own time. But how? She didn’t even know how she got here.</p>
<p>She could go to the Ministry and find the object. That would work! But no, she was being ridiculous. She didn’t even know what object she had touched was or if the Ministry still existed in this timeline. And what was she going to do? Break into the Department of Mysteries and touch every object she could get her hands on, somehow without being noticed?</p>
<p>But it was too late anyway. The water had shut off while she was panicking, and now the door to the bathroom was opening. </p>
<p>Hermione froze.</p>
<p>A dark-haired woman walked out of the bathroom, a green towel wrapped around her. Hermione’s mouth fell open and she almost screamed again. </p>
<p>The woman looked older, just as Hermione did, but she knew without a doubt who she was. The same dark hair, just longer now and curlier, making her face seem softer. The angles of her face, and the sharpness of her body, had also faded with time, making her seem more open and vulnerable.</p>
<p>Pansy Parkinson paused as she reached the end of the bed, looking over at Hermione standing naked by the mirror.</p>
<p>“Hermione?” Pansy asked, and her voice had a note of worry in it. “Is everything okay?”</p>
<p>Hermione tried to answer, but words seemed to fail her. Pansy’s brow furrowed, but there was something else on her face, something in the way Pansy was looking at her that was more than concern and worry.</p>
<p>Hermione had seen it before, on the faces of her parents and Molly and Arthur Weasley.</p>
<p>Love. </p>
<p>Pansy Parkinson was looking at her like she loved her.</p>
<p>Hermione felt her knees give out. Her mind was spinning. How was this possible? How was this real? Was this real?</p>
<p>She didn’t even have the instinct to reach out and stop herself as she fell, but it didn’t matter. Arms grabbed her, easing her to the ground, and Hermione blinked as she realized Pansy had caught her, had gently eased her to the ground and was laying her out, Hermione’s head in Pansy’s lap, and Pansy’s fingers were brushing over her forehead and her cheeks and her wrist, feeling for her pulse.</p>
<p>“Oh, Merlin,” Pansy was whispering, frantically checking over Hermione. “How didn’t I know you were feeling ill?”</p>
<p>“I …” Hermione started, but Pansy shushed her, now stroking her hair, her fingers brushing against Hermione’s skull.</p>
<p>“Don’t say anything, love,” Pansy said. “I’m going to get you into bed and then call the doctor. I should have known you’ve been pushing yourself too hard at work lately. And then we didn’t really sleep last night …”</p>
<p>“Pansy,” Hermione managed, breaking into Pansy’s train of thought. </p>
<p>Pansy instantly stopped. Her eyes focused on Hermione’s, and the way she was looking at her …</p>
<p>Hermione had to know. </p>
<p>“Kiss me,” she said, and she didn’t even know what she was thinking. This was <i>Pansy Parkinson</i> of all people, but her stomach was fluttering and there was an ache between her legs and her whole body felt flushed and she needed to know, needed to feel her …</p>
<p>Pansy frowned. “Love,” she started, but Hermione shook her head.</p>
<p>“Kiss me.”</p>
<p>Pansy seemed to weigh whatever concerns she had against what Hermione was asking, but Hermione saw the moment she decided to give in. She leaned down, her fingers still running through Hermione’s hair, and let her lips brush against Hermione’s, first soft and gentle, but then as Hermione kissed her back, growing deeper and harder.</p>
<p>Hermione moaned, her whole body aching, and Pansy kissed her more, so many kisses against Hermione’s lips, nipping at her and sucking at her, and Hermione felt like she was going to melt.</p>
<p>And then, without even knowing why, Hermione reached up a hand and placed hers over Pansy’s, moving Pansy’s hand away from her hand and down to her chest, and then Pansy’s hand was cupping her bare breast, fingers brushing over Hermione’s nipples, and the ache between Hermione’s legs was getting stronger, and she wondered what it would be like to flip Pansy over on her back, remove her towel and see how her flesh tasted.</p>
<p>Instead, she closed her eyes, deepening the kiss as Pansy played with her breast, and she felt warm and safe and …</p>
<p>Hermione’s eyes opened.</p>
<p>She wasn’t in her bedroom she shared with Pansy. She was in the medical ward of Hogwarts.</p>
<p>No. How could this be? This couldn’t be!</p>
<p>“Hermione?” She turned her head. Harry and Ron were beside her bed.</p>
<p>“Oh, thank Merlin!” Ron exclaimed. “We thought we had lost you.”</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>Two days later, Madam Pomfrey let Hermione out of the medical ward. No one knew what had happened, and Hermione hadn’t told anyone about her trip to the future. Part of her knew it had probably been a dream or a hallucination, but the other part of her was so sure it had been real. It had felt real, more real than any dream she had ever had.</p>
<p>She wasn’t paying attention where she was walking, not until she crashed into something hard.</p>
<p>She stumbled backward, mouth open to utter apologies.</p>
<p>Pansy Parkinson — the girl who was her age — glared at her. “Watch it, Granger.”</p>
<p>Hermione felt herself smile. “I’m sorry, Pansy.”</p>
<p>Pansy’s glared hardened, but beneath it, she looked confused. “What’s wrong with you?”</p>
<p>“Absolutely nothing. See you.”</p>
<p>Hermione smiled again, brushing past Pansy and continuing down the hall. They weren’t friends now, not even close, but maybe someday …</p>
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